Ibara (Cave, 2005)

[DandySephy]

I bought this off barmskii and only just had time for a proper play.

Is it me or is it stupidly hard? Now, I don't expect a vertical shooter to be easy but this seems so much harder then say Mushihime sama. In between the bullets (many of which are quite large compared to most games), the excessive amount of power ups and score things floating about the screen and the explosions, it's incredibly difficult for me to concentrate and I'm having genuine difficulty in seeing what is going on. As the game is set to freeplay, I struggled on to the fifth stage but in the end I just turned it off as I wasn't enjoying it at all.

Is it just me?

[The Enigmatic Form]

I´ve never played it, but people say that you have to get used to the graphics, like with Battle Garegga or Armed Police Batrider, because so much happens on screen. It is much more a Raizing than a Cave game anyway.

I think it´s definitely a game for pros, you also need to learn how to manipulate the rank when you want to become good at it.

[thegreathopper]

It is a great game and hard, you will enjoy it much more when you turn the continues off and learn about the bombing.

[Chi]

Is it me or is it stupidly hard?

It's a bit tricky, for sure. It's not just you You should read a strategy guide on it though, as there is lots of non-obvious stuff (like selecting the 4 different ship types for each player).

One of my fave Cave games, though (but some people hate it).

[DandySephy]

I'll give it a few goes, but after getting to the point where I can actually go 30seconds without dying on vert shooters, it was rather humbling to say the least. I haven't got the time to learn all the nuances, so basically if I don't improve over a reasonable time, it's going to have to go

[The Enigmatic Form]

Sad to say, but it simply sounds like it´s probably the wrong game for you.

Which other verts did you play, and more important, enjoy?

[DandySephy]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not hating the game, it's just incredibly difficult - mostly due to the amount going on at any given time

The stuff I play fairly often is currently Raiden IV, TriggerHeart, Mushihime sama, Donpachi and Dodonpachi. There are others I've enjoyed but that I don't play regulary, and I'm having difficulty listing them...

[The Enigmatic Form]

I just think that Ibara is a game made for people with lots of experience who are interested in putting a lot of time into it.

[DandySephy]

I'll check the difficulty. I thought I had put it to very easy, but I could also have accidentally put it onto very hard or asomethig

[Chi]

Bomb more often.

[thegreathopper]

Bomb more often.

As above it is all about the bombs.

[yosai]

The third level in Ibara is one of my favourite levels in any of the Cave games.

The only thing I don't like about the game is the suiciding.

[Chi]

And for the record, I was a complete Cave nub when I got into Ibara and could level 3 it - last shooter I'd played properly before then was Raiden.

Now I'm less of a Cave nub (still can't 1CC jack except for Death Smiles), and can only level 4 it at best :/

[sven666]

stick with it a while an dit will grow on you, just like batrider, garegga or bakraid you wont know jack **** whats going on at first but after a while it will all become clear.

read up on some FAQs on the game aswell to learn the scoring system (absoluteley essential in this game) over on shmups.com

[charlie chong]

i've only got the ps2 version but i've never clicked with ibara ever. i bomb like a madman and medal but i just think the bosses are impossible.. and i love batrider ,bakraid and garegga and can play all of them ok

[jonny5]

ibara isn't that hard, you are all a bunch of gays

(edit - *looks at my avatar...* )

agreed...well cept the gay part

i am not a godly player by any means and i can make it to the 3rd level boss with no regard for rank or anything....so it isnt that hard

my main issue with ibara is the bombing and suiciding.....i DONT bomb....and suiciding seems foolish to me....never been into raizing for that very reason...so having to bomb constantly feels very odd to me

that and having to avoid powerups and stuff bugs me too.....i just grab everything shiny anyways.....its actually kind of fun to powerup a lot and then face the bosses with the rank pumped up.....gets interesting fast.....

that said, i do like the bosses....except the first one when it shoots that light blue triangular pattern over the light blue water....i often get smoked by the first stream cuz i dont notice it in time....after that its fine....

i plan to pick it up again in the future.....i didnt give it much time and would like to see what i can do given more time with it

and the PCB is sooooo pretty...all the explosions.....very nice graphics

[Bort]

Had a quick search around and could find the answer.

In the test menu. What does 'initialize ranking' do?

Also is there anyway of telling which sub type you are using without remembering which button you pressed at the start? Haven't noticed anything on the highscore list.

[Bort]

Cheers for the info.

Watched ERI's bondG video earlier. Apart from weapon choice and rank I think I've got the rest sussed. I just need to learn the Level two boss now as she hands me my **** most of the time unless I save all the bombs for her.

[markedkiller78]

The L2 boss is an absolute turd. Some of the attacks are unbearable if you’ve kept your medal chain up. If you can, Hado just to the side of the First Form straight off, then circle round the tank once the turret is gone. If you just want to get past her, then stay at the top of the screen on the final form & the boss times out.

L3 always seems much easier to me, but that’s probably because I die so much on the L2 boss

I think Ibara is a slow burner. It took a while from me to click with it. I played it for around 2 weeks, then stuck it in a cupboard. After around a year off I fired it back up & loved it.

I still can’t clear L4, but I am getting better. I think the trick is bombing in the right places. Like all the Yagawa games, you need to score a lot & then when you die (even by accident) it helps lower the rank.

In MMP I was losing around 10 lives per credit (60m+ scores) before I sold it on. If you keep your medals up & know where to bomb for tons of them, the game becomes much easier. I’m finding the same thing with Mushi Sama, I can get 3 extends by the end of L3, it makes the game a lot easier when you have 2x or 3x the normal number of lives

I’d say stick with it, Yagawa is a genius & as soon as you start scoring in his games they become infinitely more enjoyable

[cools]

I played it for around 2 weeks, then stuck it in a cupboard. After around a year off I fired it back up & loved it.

Aha! We've got to the bottom of your hoarding The only place I have cupboards is in the kitchen. The only other concealed storage is clothes drawers.

Keep stuff visible and it'll soon **** you off